Scattered Snippets of the Soul
by Moofy-Fan
Summary: They all had lives and motivations, and it's the little moments of those that say the most.  100 themes challenge. 2003 anime, manga and brotherhood included.
1. Introduction

Hello everybody. I've decided against my better judgment to do a hundred themes challenge I found on someone's account. I later found out that they have a whole group on deviant art for them, but yeah. I'm going to try and post one every two days, and as of the moment I have 18 written. From manga, first anime, movie, all of the above. I also probably wont be updating them in order, because I haven't written them that way, but this is the first one, so hurray. I hope you like these, and please review.

**Theme: **Introduction  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Alfons Hiedrich, Ed  
><strong>Summery: <strong>You know what they say, first impressions are everything.  
><strong>Verse: <strong>Anime, post-series pre-movie  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>363

First Impression

Alfons patiently waited outside of professor Hoenheim's classroom. He needed to ask about that scientist he'd mentioned during class. Maybe he could introduce him, he always tried to help the blonde when it came to things like that.

"Outta my way!" Alfons barely managed to jump out of the way of the short boy who'd pushed himself towards the door without even looking at him. "Hey, is the bastard in there?" he asked in broken German. It took a few moments before Alfons could think straight enough to answer.

"D-dr. Hoenheim is in there, yes," he stuttered out, and the other boy just nodded and went inside, slamming the door behind him. Alfons just stared at the door, quiet taken back by the stranger's actions. He hadn't even been able to see his face.

As if reading his mind, the rude stranger stuck his head out the door and looked him over several times, a rather strange look on his face. Alfons didn't know what it was, but it was making him uncomfortable being stared at, to say the least. After maybe a minute the strange boy shook his head.

"So he wasn't lying," he mumbled, causing Alfons to raise an eyebrow in confusion, but this boy, who had the same strange eye color as professor Hoenheim actually, stepped fully out of the door and started shaking his hand.

"Hey, my name's Edward Elric, the bast- professor's my father, he said you're a student of his?" the blonde, Edward introduced himself, as if all of what just happened didn't. Slowly he managed to nod. "That's… neat. Well, hope to see you around Al, later," Edward said, before going off down the hallway, leaving Alfons dumbstruck and confused.

Shaking his head, the blonde started walking off towards his small apartment. He could talk to the professor later, when he could think again.

About halfway home, Alfons stopped and frowned to himself. He'd never introduced himself to Edward, so how in the world had he known his name? Shaking his head, he decided to just ignore it. That hadn't been the oddest thing about his first impression of the professor's son, not by a long shot.


	2. Light

Hey, I wasn't able to wait two days to upload the next chapter, surprise surprise. Like I said in the last chapter, these aren't in order, and this is number 3 on my list. It's also the first manga one I've done.

**Theme: **Light  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Mrs. Bradley, Selim/Pride  
><strong>Summery: <strong>In all these years, he'd never once let her blow out his nightlight.  
><strong>Verse: <strong>Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>283

Nightlight 

Mrs. Bradley carefully tucked her child into bed, he smiling up at her the entire time. The lights in his room were already off, with the only thing left illuminating the area was a large candle on his nightstand.

"And I can really visit father at work tomorrow? You promise?" Selim asked, and Mrs. Bradley nodded as she turned her attention towards the candle, getting ready to blow it out, just like she tried to every night. Just like every other night though, she was met with the child's below her protests.

"No! Leave it on," he demanded of her. It really was the only thing he absolutely wouldn't let her do, and after all these years it still puzzled her, no matter how many times they went over it. Usually she would just let it go, but decided to at least try and reason with the boy tonight.

"Now dear, the dark isn't anything to be afraid of," she said, but Selim was just shaking his head, looking as determined as ever. "You can't have a nightlight for your entire life," she tried again.

"I don't need forever. _Please _don't turn off the light mother," Selim pleaded, looking up at her wide eyed. Finally, the old woman sighed, conceding. She just couldn't say no to him when he was like that.

"Alright dear. Goodnight," she said, leaving the candle burning brightly next to his bed, illuminating his smiling face just enough for her to see, ragged shadows dancing around as the flame flickered.

"Goodnight mother!" he said happily, and Mrs. Bradley slowly closed the door to her child's room, leaving him alone with his protective light as she herself went to sleep.


	3. Dark

Hey, we have drabble number three here. Once again it's first anime, and they'll probably be going more or less every other considering the series, or at least, that's how I've have it planned out so far.

**Theme: **Dark  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Wrath  
><strong>Summary: <strong>He just waited and waited, until one day, an idiot dropped by…  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>448

Escape of Darkness

In the constant darkness, his existence was monotonous. The endless struggle against the others automatic, crawling over them in an attempt to escape the horrid environment he resided in, their spindly arms and hands pulling him back as they tried just as hard for the same freedom he desired. There wasn't any payoff in this of course, since there wasn't any exit to be found. At least, not one they could see.

When a break from this routine finally happened, the struggling fool found himself with some luck, even if he wouldn't of understood the concept, directly at the place where the embodiment of darkness split itself open, light pouring inside. The amazement didn't cause him to stall long, eyes instantly focusing on what stood in front of him. It was strange, just standing and staring, but as the surge of black bodies rushed towards it, the fool did as well, wrapping his arms around one of the strange stubs that kept the being standing.

It was instinct that caused him to pull, tearing the stump off the being and landing him directly back in his cradle of darkness and squirming bodies. His new treasure almost instantly fused itself to the same spot on his body that it had been on the strange being. The fool didn't think too much of this though, already turning his attention back to where the blinding shroud of black had finally opened, wishing that it would again, and at last rid him of the darkness and pain he didn't understand.

When it actually did, he hadn't moved from his spot, and found himself staring straight ahead at the strange being once again. It had changed though, something was off with his face, an odd liquid running down it, and it was making noises now.

"Give him back! He's my brother!" it yelled, the meaning flying over the fool's head. Smiling, he lunged forward, once again grabbing and pulling off one of the stumps. When he was trapped back in his shadowy prison, his smile didn't leave, the second treasure melting itself onto his body.

Something had happened. Broke through the monotonous darkness that was his existence, and left him changed. Pushing himself forward, he could feel the end, the place where the shadows opened that never seemed to exist before.

Carefully he started prying at the crack where it'd closed. He would escape this darkness, go to wherever that strange being was from, where the light was. It didn't matter how long it would take him to pull apart the immobile doors, he would do it.

With the help and hope that strange being had given him, he'd escape, no matter what.


	4. Past

Hello everyone. This one was actually a bit more difficult to write than the others so far. I've never really wrote Hoenheim, let alone him while he was young, but I hope that it manages to capture him well.

**Theme: **Past  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Hoenheim  
><strong>Summery: <strong>Well, it seemed like his life was about to get a lot more interesting from now on. What a strange thing he was, that little one inside the flask.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>336

Bright Future

Slave number 23, no wait, Von Hoenheim now, he reminded himself, went over the events of the day in his head as if they had been as normal as any other, although he knew for a fact that was anything but true. That creature, Homunculus he called himself, sure was an interesting one. The pain from when Master had forced him to give his blood would definitely be worth it if he went through with his promise of giving him knowledge.

Walking down the long hallways of his Master's home Von casually swung his mop, in a much better mood then normal as he thought of the possibilities Homunculus had offered him. Sure, he'd been perfectly fine with his position before, but that was when there was no way for it to change. Now, he could only imagine where he might end up. After all, the little homunculus was right about him not wanting to spend his whole life in a cage.

"Well, someone looks happy today," one of his fellow slaves, although not for long, said as he walked by him. Von just flashed him a smiled and shrugged as he flung the mop over his shoulder.

"Eh, I've been having a surprisingly good day," he said, and the older man jokingly made a face of shock.

"Surprising _and _good, will wonders never cease?" he said, and Von just laughed. "So, what happened anyway?" he asked, and Von just flashed him another smile as he started walking down the opposite direction.

"It's a secret!" he said happily, and the other slave didn't bother to press him, just shrugging slightly and continuing on his own way. Yes, it was a secret all his own, but hopefully not for long. Homunculus had promised him knowledge, and despite what he'd said, he knew he wasn't stupid. He would learn as fast as he could, and actually find a way to move himself up in the world.

Yes, soon number 23 would be nothing but the past to him.


	5. Heaven

Hello everyone. I thought I would upload another chapter before I went to bed, so here it is. Also, yes, I did in fact steal the drabble name from one of the songs on the FMA movie soundtrack. It's a pretty song…

**Theme: **Heaven  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Alphonse Elric  
><strong>Summery: <strong>Alphonse doesn't know what heaven is.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>337

Lost Heaven

Alphonse Elric watched as the sun slowly made it's decent down the horizon at the end of the day. The oranges and reds of the sky were reflected in the river at the foot of the hill he was seated on, and the countryside carried a calm, peaceful feel. Alone with the only sound the rustling and cheeps of the wilds around him, one would think that it was perfect.

A small frown set itself onto the boys face at the thought, and he heaved an annoyed sigh, completely contradictory to the absolutely heavenly scene in front of him. He shouldn't be out here, he should be inside, studying, but Winry had forced him outside in an attempt at making him relax. How could he relax though, when he was this close to getting brother back?

Shaking his head, the blonde decided to stay outside just until the sun finished it's decent. He could wait that long to go back to work, and that would probably please Winry. Picking up a small twig, he started tracing different circles and symbols into the dirt, figuring he could keep working if he still had his mind, even if he didn't have access to his books.

When he finally looked up from his work, the sun had long since gave way to night, and the boy brushed himself off and stood up, quickly returning back to his temporary home. He'd only come back for a few days. Winry said that they never visited when he and brother had been traveling, and he wasn't going to repeat that. When he reached the house, he was greeted with the delicious smells of dinner.

"Hey Al, we just finished dinner, did you manage to relax for once?" the blonde woman asked as he started up the stairs towards his room. Stopping momentarily, he turned back and smiled.

"Yep, I'll be down later to get some, thanks," he said before returning up towards him room, closing the door and locking himself in his studies.


	6. Insanity

Hello everyone. This one was really fun to write, since the character is so… freakin creepy. I swear, I didn't think FMA could get a character any worse than Tucker, but I was wrong. Oh boy, was I wrong.  
>Either way though, like I said, it was fun, and he's able to fit the prompt without even doing anything. _<p>

**Theme: **Insanity  
><strong>Characters: <strong>The Gold Toothed Docto  
><strong>Summery: <strong>He never was very right in the head.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>294

Scientist of the Mad Variety

People were never very comfortable around him, there was something about his stare. It was probably the fact that it never looked exactly at one place at any given time. He knew this, and it didn't bother him in the least. Humanity didn't bother him in the least. It was one of the few things he'd never really understood, actually. How people could care for one another in such strange ways. The only thing he cared about was his science.

He was sure it was his eccentricity and knowledge of biological alchemy that allowed him to climb the ranks of the military, until eventually being the head of the future Fuhrer project. Now _that_ had been an achievement. He'd made something better than a mere human, and the leftovers weren't bad either, if he was to say so himself.

It was almost the promised day now, and he was very disappointed with the people upstairs. They still only had four sacrifices, if they didn't act fast, then he'd have to do something himself. Of course, the people he was relying on were fools, wishing for something as imperfect as immortality. He knew that they weren't even going to get it, their boss obviously had plans all his own.

And himself? Well, he didn't care. As long as it all went though, and he could do his science, then it'd be fine with him. Smiling a grin that showed off his distinctively discolored golden tooth, he didn't look exactly human. He wasn't really, not mentally. He'd never actually been.

The scientific man started walking off down the underground tunnels to where the leftover contestants trained. He'd have to make sure they were ready for the big day, he might need them for protection after all.


	7. Innocence

Hello. I'm back again with another drabble. Out of all the homunculus, I probably neglect Gluttony the second worst, so it's kind of a surprise to myself that this one is about him. I just wanted to do something out of the box, since innocence could have a lot of potentially predictable answers. I hope you like it.

**Theme: **Innocence  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Gluttony; Lust  
><strong>Summery: <strong>It was amazing how such a cold blooded killer could still retain such a childlike innocence  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga or Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>294

Psychopathic Man-Child

Lust turned her back as Gluttony noisily finished his meal. It wasn't that she felt anything for the homeless man that she'd finally let the large homunculus devourer after much pestering, she just didn't quite feel like seeing his insides torn and strung out. It didn't matter that she let him eat this one, he had no home and no family, no one would miss him, and it would quiet Gluttony for at least a moment.

"Luuust! I'm done!" he called to her after a few moments, and she casually stopped leaning against a tree to turn towards him. There wasn't anything left of the man but red stains on the ground and Gluttony's face and hands.

"Alright, let's go," she said coldly, and the stout homunculus was almost immediately at her heals, following like some sort of excited puppy dog. The carefree and energetic way he would rip humans limb from limb still managed to surprise her, even after all these years to get used to it.

There wasn't a single thing that could pass them off as innocent, at least not to any human, but the way that her companion often acted made her wonder slightly. It wasn't the type of innocence that humans often thought of, a kindness and pureness that they likes to associate with children and angels and the like. No, it was a much more basic form than that, and frankly in her opinion, quite a bit more fitting to the actual definition.

He just simply did not understand that it was wrong. If he was hungry, he would eat, and he was always hungry. There was nothing corrupt about his motivation or actions. It was simply a basic, animalistic desire.

In her opinion, Gluttony was completely innocent.


	8. Silence

Hello everyone. Finally Friday after a very long week of block scheduling in school. It actually felt like fall today, which I guess fits with the title of this drabble a bit. The song No One Knows My Plan by They Might be Giants fits Kimbley perfectly, so that's where a bit of the inspiration for this came from.

**Theme: **Silence  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Kimbley  
><strong>Summery: <strong>No one understands, no one knows my plan.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>307

Burning Autumn Leaves

The mad bomber Kimbley sat patiently inside his jail cell. It'd been years since the Ishbal extermination, and his stay had been mostly uninterrupted. Only a few hours ago though, he'd heard the pleasant sound of a collapsing building, and it took quite a bit of strength to continue to keep himself silent.

He actually hadn't been able to, not completely at least. He'd corrected the guards on what the sound was, but they hadn't seemed very interested in much else he had to say, even if he'd wanted to tell them. That was all fine by him though, he'd already told his plans to his empty jail cell enough times. The less he let slip to actual people, the higher the chances were for him to be able to get out of here. Soon, he was sure, if the building he suspected to be the one to have collapsed was right.

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He knew that he'd only escape when his previous employers had need for his special talents once again. Oh what a beautiful day it would be once he would finally be able to bring about his wonderful symphony of destruction to the world again. Almost instinctively he reached his finger tips together, but his palms couldn't touch, and he wasn't able to produce a transmutation.

Oh, but he was getting ahead of himself now, and brought his fingers away from each other, allowing his hands to fall limply from their holds. He just continued to stare ahead at the dark, grey wall of his cell through his unkempt hair in silence. Just a little bit longer would he have to be quiet. He could feel it, soon he'd be able to bring his lovely music to the world again.

But for now, he'd just have to keep silent.


	9. Beast

Hello everybody. I figured, if I did one for the other completely insane and hated though out the entire fandom of Fullmetal alchemist person, then I should do one for this guy too. Insanity is fun to write, in case you haven't noticed from me yet.

**Theme: **Beast  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Shou Tucker  
><strong>Summary: <strong>It was only around his mangled creations that he could feel even remotely human.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga/Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>402

In Name Only

The worn out man carelessly shut the door to his study behind him before sitting down at his desk. His head was almost instantly in his hands, and he breathed a long sigh. He had such little time left, if he didn't get something done soon, than the whole life he'd sacrificed oh so much for would come crumbling down.

The growls of his creations from the other room brought him out of his slump a bit, and he walked as if in a trance over to where they were. He fed them mechanically as thoughts, possible solutions that he'd hoped he'd never have to try again, rang through his head. He supposed it could be possible to pull someone off the streets, but what would stop the same thing as last time from happening again? There had to be a solution.

Tucker snapped his hand back as one of the creatures attempted to snatch it off along with the food. Looking down at it, it really was an ugly thing. What was this one now? He almost couldn't remember. Part goat and… bat maybe? Yes, that was probably it.

Placing the bag of food down in the corner, he carefully surveyed the room, looking over the clumsily stacked cages. None of these would do. They were of no use to the military, if he submitted any of them, he was sure to lose everything.

"Daddy? Is it okay if I play with little big brother outside?" the voice of his daughter called in from his office doorway, and a strike of inspiration hit.

"Yes, just be careful, sweetie," he called back before hearing the sound of her footsteps pattering away. Yes, the answer was in front of him this whole time, but he'd never seen it before now. The first one was too old. Much too old. This one would be different.

The cries of his mangled beasts broke him out of his thoughts, and he chuckled slightly. It wasn't the laugh of someone sane though, it sounded broken and hallow. No matter what happened, his entire life was going to be destroyed and ripped out from under him, either by the militaries doing, or his own.

He used to like to think that he was of a better set than the monsters he created, but that wasn't really the case anymore, was it? He really was human in name only.


	10. Foreign

Hello all. Look, it's not that's not depressing, hurray. Yeah, writing these I've noticed that a lot of the stuff I do is not really that much humor, but I don't want to depress everyone reading.

**Theme: **foreign  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Greed, Ling  
><strong>Summery: <strong>Greed had absolutely no idea what half the stuff that punk in his head was saying, and it was starting to piss him off.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>414

Speaking In Tongues

"Would you quit that? Who the hell could you even possibly be talking to?" Greed growled out to the inhabitant of his mind, once again fed up with the prince's tendency to mumble to himself in Xingese, or was it Xingstian? He didn't know, and he didn't care, he just wanted it to stop.

"Why? I'm not bothering you," the foreign prince Ling said, breaking out of his incoherent mumbling. Greed just rolled his eyes and snorted. When he was alone guarding the tunnels like this, it didn't matter if he spoke out loud to the brat or not, since there wasn't anyone else to judge him. It wasn't that he cared what those other homunculus thought, but he knew they didn't really approve of him having a 'friendly' relationship with the original owner of his body.

"Like hell is it not bothering me, I know you're planning something when you start going off on that gibberish," Greed retaliated, and he could see Ling smirk at him, as if he had guessed it right on the nose.

"Now, why would I ever do that?" the Xing prince asked, a clearly false sincerity to his voice.

"Then tell me what you were saying," Greed asked, already knowing that he wasn't going to get a straight answer, or at least one that was true. They'd been through this before, and damn, for someone who could act like such an immature kid one minute, he sure was tight lipped the next. He still wanted to see whatever lie the prince would come up with, though.

"Oh, just that I -" the rest of the sentence was compiled of words Greed didn't understand, and he couldn't help but groan in frustration. Okay, he'd walked right into that one, but damn the kid had never done that one before.

"Would you quit speaking in tongues!" he nearly yelled, and Ling gave him a look of offence.

"That's the language of my people and my culture, when I go back and become king, you'll be hearing it a whole lot more, so you should probably learn," the Xing boy said, and Greed leaned back against the wall of the tunnel, shaking his head decisively. If he had to learn that complicated jumble of sounds that constituted as a language, then there was no way he was going to go with the prince back to his country.

"Nope, never gonna happen." he said firmly, and that was the end of it.


	11. Precious Treasure

Hello everyone. This one kind of makes me feel like a one trick pony. I've written this scene three, maybe four times now? I can't help that it's the only scene of significance that first anime Selim appears in. I tried to switch it up a bit though, and so I hope everyone likes it.  
>And yes, I did take a manga quote and use it as the title for something about the anime...<p>

**Theme: **Precious Treasure  
><strong>Characters: <strong>King Bradley, Selim  
><strong>Summery: <strong>It was the most important object he had, he'd told the boy that his life depended on it.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>324

Despair for the Conceited

King Bradley was absolutely seething, a fitting thing, with the flames that surrounded him. Without a second glance he flung the now lifeless body of his son across the room. He may have been the homunculus Pride, but at the moment he felt more like Wrath, any sort of joy he was supposed to have for the boy turned into bitter anger.

"You're all fools, even my own son," he growled, watching as the limp and injured Mustang carefully placed the black haired boy to the ground, lifting his one weakness from the body.

The blank skull of his human template stared at him, and a crippling pain shot through his body. He'd told the child that his life depended on that treasure, and now because of the boy's mistakes, he was going to die. He couldn't think as flames engulfed his body, and he knew that he had no sort of fighting chance.

It was all the boy's fault, his own son. He'd brought the most important object he had to him, and he paid for that mistake with his life. He should have let it get destroyed in the fire. He knew that others could say that it was his fault, for not telling the boy just why the object was important, but that didn't matter. It was the boy's mistake. He couldn't even think of his name anymore, he didn't deserve it, for what he'd done.

As his body was continuously eaten away by the flames, one thought rang though his mind. That foolish child had gotten what he'd deserved for his mistake. To think that any feeble human could be his undoing, especially one that was for all intent and purpose supposed to be his pride and joy. The only pride he had in anyone was himself.

It never occurred to the conceited, angry being that the one who'd made the mistake and paid the necessary price was ultimately himself.


	12. Eyes

Hey, new drabble time. Pride's a little creeper. I'm actually trying to keep myself from writing too many things about him, and so far I think it's working. Kind of. Well, at least this chapter also has a character I almost never write for.

**Theme: **Eye  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Riza Hawkeye; Pride  
><strong>Summery: <strong>Everywhere she went, the eyes followed.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>341

Night Watch

It'd been two weeks now, and the monster had made sure to keep it's promise. The stern blonde woman attempted to keep herself from shuddering as the echoing words from the other night played back in her head.

_I'll always be watching you… from the shadows…_

She managed to keep her eyes forward and away from the black pools she knew lurked just outside of the relative safety of the streetlights. Two weeks, and every night as she walked home she could feel his eyes watching her from every corner. She wouldn't let him see her unease though. She was stronger then that, she wouldn't let him win.

The woman was halfway home when she became aware of the absolute isolation she was in, the rest of the street void of any other human life. Once again she managed to suppress the shiver that ran down her back at the unnatural shifting of the shadows around her.

"_Feeling tense Hawkeye? It doesn't have to be this way,_" the voice echoed around her as several eyes seemed to open in the darkest of the shadows, surrounding her. She managed to give the being a small, cold smile. She knew this was all a mind game, a way to break her so that they wouldn't have to worry about anything she might try later, and she wasn't going to let him know it was working.

"I feel fine Pride, and my answer's still no. I'm not about to become a pawn," she said, watching as the surrounding eyes glared at her disapprovingly.

"_Very well Hawkeye, but you know the cost if you were to breath a word of this to anyone," _the monster said as the eyes slowly started to blink out of existence, but the unnatural swirling of the shadows never entirely went away. Despite this, Hawkeye continued her walking, not missing a single pace as the echo of their first meeting rang through the streets, just as it had every night for the past two weeks.

"_I'll always be watching you._"


	13. Abandon

Hello everybody. Decided to post another drabble before I go to bed, since I don't feel like waiting until after school tomorrow to do it. It kind of counts into my schedule of updating every other day. Sorta. Anyway, here's little Ed, since I'm not really that good at writing normal Ed, and since he's one of the main characters and all, he should probably appear in at least a few of these…

**Theme: **Abandon  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Little Ed  
><strong>Summary: <strong>He didn't care if that man never came back ever again.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga/Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>442

Abandonment Issues

Six year old Edward Elric made his way through the marketplace. Al was sick, and his mother asked him to go out and get some tomatoes for some soup for his brother while she watched him. He'd been bored all day, and being trusted to go out and do something all by himself was making him practically bounce with joy. He'd already brought three of the round orbs, and was heading back to his house.

"Yes, it's been maybe four years now," the child overheard Mrs. Carrington a few feet away. She was an older lady, but she helped his mother a bit sometimes.

"I don't see why she doesn't just remarry. It's not like that man is ever coming back," the golden eyed boy stopped at those words. He'd heard people tell his mother that a few times, but never really understood. She always said no though.

"I know, but there's no use trying to talk sense into that woman. Why she holds out for someone who abandoned them all, I don't know," Edward frowned and clung onto his tomatoes a bit tighter than necessary. He knew who they were talking about now, but that was the first time he'd heard anyone say it like that before.

Abandon. Mommy had said that meant left and never come back, but she also said that their father was going to come back soon. A thought occurred to the child, and it dawned on him that she'd been saying he was going to come back _soon _for years. Years didn't seem very soon to him.

Turning back towards his home, he ran as fast as he could until he was inside. He didn't stay long though, quickly placing the vegetables (or was it a fruit?) down on the kitchen counter and turning back towards the front door.

"I got da tomatoes, goin' outside!" he yelled before he made it through the door, quickly leaving the front yard. He didn't stop until he was at the river. He could understand why Al came here whenever he was upset, but he wasn't upset. He just didn't feel like being home and catching a cold.

He didn't get why his mother would lie about that. If dad wasn't going to come home, he didn't care. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he didn't even really know the man. His only memories were blurry, and he only knew his face from the pictures. It was a wonder how he hadn't realized they'd been abandoned before.

No, he didn't care, and truthfully, he hoped they stayed abandoned. He didn't want to see him anymore.


	14. Family

Hey y'all. Updating before bed again, hurray. This one was fun to do, also a bit longer than most of my other ones. I think it's the longest so far, actually. Well, that's what you get when I decide to describe all of the homunculus.

**Theme: **Family  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Father; the homunculus  
><strong>Summery: <strong>In the end they were solely there to further him in his plan, but they were still his children, and that's what made them so powerful.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>625

A Father's Love

The ancient and powerful being watched as the first of his children made his way into his lair. This was one of the rare times they were to have an important meeting, and all were to be here. This close to the promised day, he could except no mistakes.

It was no surprise to him that Pride had been the first to arrive. His constant appeal for approval and undying loyalty made him Father's most trusted child. The fact that he knew this only served to increase these attributes, his own pride too large to allow him to do anything but, just as the being had wished him to be, all those years ago.

His next child to enter was Lust, his only 'daughter' in the group. The two barely stole a glance at each other, both as serious about this meeting as Father hoped his children would be. As he looked her over her cold stare reflected the intelligence and subtle blood lust that he knew would be useful in the upcoming days.

Almost immediately after Lust ran in Gluttony, his near mindless eyes looking around the room in an intrigued and curious way, despite the fact that he'd been here countless times before. While he wasn't the sharpest of his children, nor quite what he'd originally hoped to create, he was still useful, and things begin to fall apart if you have too many thinkers working together, and not enough people to follow them.

After Gluttony, his youngest child Wrath waltz into the room, a calm demeanor about him seeming to betray his name as he quickly bowed towards him before taking his place in the line up. Father knew that wasn't the case though. He was an embodiment of his wrath, not fury, and that lasted much longer, and was much more deadly, just like the public ruler of the country in front of him.

It was about five minutes later when Envy came barreling in, a look of exhaustion and fear on his face as he quickly looked around the room, before breaking out in a twisted smile at not being the last to have shown up. Father wasn't about to bother with what had kept one of his more… eccentric children late, instead content in the fact that he'd managed to hopefully get here without causing more harm to their plans than good.

It took another ten minutes for Sloth to show up, to the irritation of several other of his children, he could see it on their faces when the giant being finally lumbered into the room. Like Gluttony, he wasn't here to contribute with his brains, but instead the brute force that allows him to dig a large tunnel almost completely around the circumference of the country.

Looking at six of his seven children, he knew that the last, Greed, was not going to arrive. The only one of his children to even dream about going against him, let alone do it, he'd left years ago and had yet to be caught or cause them any trouble. In an ironic way, it was the betrayal that let him know that his greed was absolute.

Father smiled coldly at the homunculus lined up obediently at his feet. While their only true purpose was to help his further himself in his plan, they were still his 'children' and in a strange way that those lowlife humans would describe it, a 'family'.

"Hello my children, we have much to discuss," Father said, bringing his hands together and looking over each one quickly. Yes, they were a 'family' and it was that fact that would allow him to keep his control over them until their ends, and finally reach his ultimate goal.


	15. Illusion

Hello. Well, since Father was the focus of the last drabble, I think it's only appropriate if Dante got the chance to take the stage next. Don't really write her that often, so I hope this is good.

**Theme: **Illusion  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Dante  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Each new body was more perfect than the last, fitting of herself. Of course, she'd never admit that it was all just an illusion.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>341

Makeup and Dresses

Dante hummed to herself as she glided about her library, always in a good mood after acquiring a new body. This one had certainly been a pretty little thing. She couldn't have been any older than twenty, and her blonde hair fell in curls similar to the woman's original body. Only her hair had been brown back then, or was it red? She couldn't remember, but it didn't exactly matter.

The only thing that could dampen her mood at a time like this was the thought of her constantly shrinking philosopher's stone. There was still quite a bit left, it could last her another hundred and fifty, maybe two hundred years, possibly longer if she decided to not transfer bodies quite as rapidly as she had been.

The sound of one of her ever loyal homunculus walking into the room met her new ears, and she turned around to face him. Ah, Envy, the oldest and her most personal of her homunculus. Even more so than the ones she created herself.

"So you finally decided to get a new set of clothes," the androgynous being said, leaning against one of the bookshelves, looking her over, a bored expression on his face.

"Yes, isn't it lovely? She was quite easy to deceive, such a foolish youth," Dante said happily, and Envy just rolled his eyes, starting to walk out of the room.

"You were an old hag before, you're an old hag now, no matter how much makeup you put on," he said as he shut the door. The ancient woman was absolutely seething, her expression almost instantly switching from one of rare happiness to instant rage. There was maybe one other thing that could ruin her mood even more than the diminishing philosopher's stone at a time like this, and she'd just found it.

"Envy!" she yelled, going after the sin, alchemical lights already crackling around her as she clapped her hands. He was going to get punished for this. No one slashed her illusions like that, not even her son.


	16. Breaking the Rules

Hello all This one was really fun for me to write. No one ever does anything about Scar-Bro, but I think he's such a cool character, especially in the manga. He was so ahead of the game man, if he didn't die in Ishbal it would have been like Father had two Hoenheims to deal with.

**Theme: **Breaking the Rules  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Scar-Bro  
><strong>Summery: <strong>Even though it was against Ishbal, there was something about that alchemy that he couldn't quite leave alone.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>426

Critical Research

The glasses wearing Isbalan carefully went over his most recently acquired alchemy book. This was the first one he'd been able to get in what felt like months. Of course, that was to be expected.

It wasn't that he was trying to go against Ishbal, but ever since he'd first heard of the science, he couldn't help but be interested. Luckily, his family had yet to find out, but with the way his brother had been snooping around lately, he knew it wouldn't be much longer. If only there was some way to open their minds to just the idea of alchemy, but he knew it would not be that easy. Even if he tried to explain the similarities between the flow of alchemy and their own god, they wouldn't believe him.

"Brother, are you in here?" the older Isbalan quickly tried to hide the complicated book behind his back, but he wasn't fast enough. "What do you have?" his younger brother asked, and hesitantly he brought the tome out. Well, he'd just been thinking it was only a matter of time.

"I got it from an Amestrian trader, it's a book on-" he tried to explain, but before he could finish his sentence, the book was ripped from his hands.

"Alchemy! Brother, what are you doing with this? You know it's against Ishbal!" he yelled, and the older boy sighed. He knew something like this would happen, his brother was just so devoted. Most of the time it was a great thing, but now, not so much.

"I know, but I feel that studying it could provide several great insights to-" once again he was cut off.

"We don't need any insights! Ishbal-"

"That's the kind of thinking that will just leave us behind! The world is changing, if we don't even acknowledge that change, we'll be doomed," he said, hoping that he could at least attempt some sort of reasoning. His younger brother just stared at him, before dropping the book to the floor and turning around.

"We can keep up with the world and not compromise our beliefs at the same time, brother, I hope you can understand that," he said, before leaving his little hideaway. The older Isbalan just sighed, picking up his book and continuing where he'd left off.

He meant no offense to Ishbal, but in the bottom of his heart he truly believed that this would be of some great use one day, and no matter what others told him, even his own brother, he wouldn't stop his research.


	17. Old

Hey everyone. Another drabble time. It's kind of funny, I can see a lot of parallels between this one and the last one for Dante, Illusions. Like mother like son, I guess (when going by first anime, of course).

**Theme: **Old  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Envy, Wrath  
><strong>Summery: <strong>Envy was going to kill that little brat. He was not old, damn it!  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>376

Young and Beautiful

Envy sat in one of the many rooms inside Dante's mansion, throwing a rubber ball at the wall over and over again. Despite how close they were to success, there were still a few days here and there when there was just nothing to do, and the newest sin Wrath was watching him from across the room. Usually he clung to Sloth like a lost puppy dog, but she was at work, so now he was lucky enough to be baby sitter.

"Envy?" the black haired boy asked, watching the ball go back and forth almost like he was hypnotized.

"What ya want brat?" Envy answered, the irritation clear on his voice. He didn't like this kid, too noisy, too moody. Of course, what was he expecting from someone named Wrath?

"How old are you?" the child asked, sounding almost normal for once, not off tilter in his head and seething with hate for the world. Envy didn't even glance away from the blue rubber ball as he answered.

"Four hundred and thirty seven years old," he said without thinking. It wasn't that he even bothered to keep an active record of it, or at least, he didn't want to. It just wasn't the easiest thing in the world to forget the worst day of his life, and Dante would remind him whenever she got bored and felt like being a bitch.

A crackling, annoying laugh filled the room, and Wrath was once again back to being the annoying embodiment of anger, his expression losing any of the innocence it had a few moments ago.

"_Damn _you're old! Freaking grandpa," the much younger sin said, standing up from his previous seat and walking towards the door. Catching the ball as it flung back towards him, Envy threw it at the back of Wrath's head with as much force as he could muster. He watched quite satisfied as the boy fell flat on his face, before scrambling to his feet and running off out of the room without saying a word.

Standing up from his chair, Envy started to give chase. He was _not _old, he was young and beautiful! He was going to make sure that disrespectful little brat would remember that, that was for sure.


	18. Waiting

Hello everybody. Though I'd upload another drabble before I head off to bed. I like writing about characters that don't really have much focus on them in the fandom. It makes me think more, and it's fun.

**Theme: **Waiting  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Truth  
><strong>Summery: <strong>Those brothers really were alike in so many ways. There wasn't anything the truth could do though, but wait and see if they could keep their promises.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>370

In God's Domain

_I'll come back, no matter what!_

Those words echoed around the mind of the being in control of Alphonse Elric's flesh body. So similar to the words the iron cased alchemist's older brother had spoken to it, what had to of been months ago in worldly time.

_One day soon, I'm coming back to get you! No matter what!_

Those brothers, they certainly were an oddity. Ever since they first crossed into it's domain, and it was able to meet them face to face. In a way, they were simply meeting themselves, or at least, a hollow outline of themselves. Such determination they had, when Edward punched open his own gate out of sheer force of will to deliver that message, for the first time in what would feel like an eternity, the being known as Truth had been surprised.

The fact that its next surprise was from the younger Elric brother was almost fitting. Even if his sacrifice might have unknowingly been the final stone into their enemy's plan, the selflessness was a welcomed change to the constant attempt at taking the being had grown used to from its visitors over the centuries. Even these brothers had started off that way, but my how they've changed.

If it was enough change though, well it wasn't sure. Even though it had introduced itself as god, the one, the all, truth, and even whoever managed to be foolish enough to enter it's domain, it couldn't be certain about the outcome of the future. It had no real sway in the choices of those who lived in the physical world of color and senses.

So for how, he'd just have to continue to listen to what that Edward Elric had told it all those months ago. It wouldn't be a problem, there wouldn't be much longer, after all. If it wasn't finished by the end of today, then their would be no happy ending for those odd brothers.

A smile spread it's way across the face that didn't belong to it, as those shouted words replayed in his head once more. Even though Alphonse hadn't said it, it'd been implied, and his brother could speak for both of them.

_Just you wait!_


	19. Sacrifice

Hello, sorry this one is a little latish, stomach was hurting and I kept getting distracted. This one was really, really fun to write though. I mean, I really feel for Other-Ed. He didn't have any idea what was going on, he never stood a chance! Not to mention it was just like, opps, well he's dead, let's pretend _that _little incident never happened. Anyway, here's the drabble.

**Theme: **Sacrifice  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Other-Edward  
><strong>Summery: <strong>He had no clue what was going on. Was he going to die? It wasn't fair…  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>325

Equivalency

The blonde teen stopped in his tracks in the middle of the cobblestone sidewalk when the strangest feeling overtook him. He felt nearly paralyzed, like him mind was being suppressed inside of him, and for every account he could think of had to of blacked out.

Even when he assumed he'd woken up, he hadn't, not really at least. Someone or something else had taken control of his body. It was talking with professor Hoenhiem like he knew him, and the man obviously knew something was wrong, but he kept calling him Edward despite that. No matter how much he tried to force himself into control, to call out to whoever it was that was operating him, it wasn't working. Everything he saw would switch between blurred and clear, and he could only hear every other word they were saying.

When Hoenhiem left him on the outskirts of London, he tried to pick up the struggle again, but soon stopped. It wasn't until whoever was in his body looked up to see a zeppelin crashing towards them.

_Move you idiot! Run!_ It was some of the first truly coherent sentences he formed since stuck inside his own mind, that was the only place he could figure he was at any rate, but it didn't seem to help any. It wasn't until after he was stuck under the burning wreckage did full control and full pain return to his body.

"Ah! Fuck!" he yelled out, confusion and despair wracking his entire body. "I'm… going to die?… What the… no!" he yelled, but the unbearable pain from the flames and crushing metal beams soon found him even more disoriented than he'd been when locked in his brain.

"No… not fair… not fair…" he mumbled, soon truly losing consciousness. He had no idea how his own life had been used against his will as a toll for someone else's decisions, or how ironic his final words were.


	20. Keeping a Secret

Hello everyone. This one was kind of hard to write, I never do Mustang, and the way that they have all these secret codes and things is really hard to get across. I do think it's extremely clever the way they handled everything and had it prepared through some sort of voodoo magic, so I guess that's why I wrote this at all.

**Theme: **Keeping A Secret  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Roy Mustang  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Well, this was a very interesting predicament they were in.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>312

Through the Grapevine

Roy Mustang watched as the small strip of paper was engulfed by flames and fell into the water of the toilet. He wanted to say that the sentence that had been just erased from reality couldn't of been right, but with the way everything had been heading lately, he knew that probably wasn't the case.

Leaving the stall, he tried to think of his possible options. They really were in a tight predicament. Not only was the Fuhrer a homunculus, they should have been able to guess that someone so close to him would be linked to them as well. Even though he trusted his information source more than anything, he still needed proof.

That wasn't going to be easy when it was so crucial that no one find out they have this information, and they were already under watch. The black haired man had always had a few precautions and a small network of trusted information posts, but he'd never imagined it would have to become so important.

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he started walking back to his now empty office and sat down at his desk. Glancing at the phone, he went over a few plans in his head. He'd have to go down to the flower woman today, he'd heard Olivia Armstrong had successfully become heir to the Armstrong line. Thinking it over a bit, he picked up the old phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello, Madame?" he asked into the phone, and the slightly gruff voice of an older woman came sounding out of the speaker.

"Oh Roy dear, what can I do for you?" she said, having recognized his voice, which didn't surprise him. He used to spend quite a large deal of time with her.

"I've heard quite a few interesting things lately. I need something special, think you could help me out?"


	21. Creation

Hello everyone. This one was really fun to write. I mean, I've never seen anything with a young Tucker, although my sister was kind of the source of the idea. She said something about everything being cuter when little, but we decided that Tucker was an exception to that rule. Anyway, here it is.

**Theme: **Creation  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Young Tucker  
><strong>Summary: <strong>He had always loved to create different things.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga/Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>424

Mix and Match

A young boy shut the door to his room with his foot, his hands occupied with a medium sized box. Going over to his worn out old bed, he pulled the lid off and watched the creatures inside craw and squirm around with fascination.

A small smile made it's way across his face as he reached his arm in and picked up a beetle in between his fingertips. Examining the creature, he started prodding and pulling at its legs and wings, careful to not actually rip anything off. Lifting up one of it's wings now, he pulled harder than any of the times before, managing to rip the appendage off rather cleanly, before moving on to the next wing with ease. He'd had quite a bit of practice.

Placing the beetle back down inside the box, he watched as it pitifully attempted to escape, all of the rest of the insects appearing none the wiser of its pain. Looking around, he grabbed a small spider he'd found in the garden and placed it on a circle he'd drawn earlier that day. Putting the delicate wings next to it, he made sure to carefully place his hands down on the paper before the spider got any chance to scurry away.

As the light quickly faded from the circle, the brunette boy leaned forward to get a better look at his new creation, pushing his glasses up slightly. A frown made it's way onto his face as he poked at the spider, the beetle's wings now securely fashioned to it's back. He had to admit, he was getting better. The wings were right where he wanted them to be, and the rest of the spider was almost completely intact.

That didn't change the fact that it was still dead.

Sighing, the boy picked up the mix matched creature and threw it into the garbage can in the corner of his room. When he went back to his box of test subjects, he found that the beetle who'd donated his wings was no longer moving.

"Dead too? You guys are dropping like flies," the teenaged boy laughed at his own joke, before picking up the bug and throwing it away as well. Taking the lid, he carefully closed the box and slid it underneath his bed. If his mother found it, she'd throw it all away.

Laying on his bed, the brunette pulled a large book off of his shelf and started reading. He'd need to get better if any of his creations were going to live.


	22. Fairy Tale

Hi everybody. Huh, when I read this one aloud, it was shorter than it seemed writing it. Anyway, I like it, I guess. Don't really have much to say about this one besides please review and tell me what you think.

**Theme: **Fairy Tale  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Hoenheim, Ed, Trisha  
><strong>Summary: <strong>There was a certain tale about a philosopher that hailed from the east.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>361

Living Legend

There was a certain tale about a philosopher that hailed from the east. It wasn't really told to many children, but almost all alchemist knew of it. That was how the Elric brothers had thought that their mother had known the story, that their father must of told it to her. Once it became apparent how gifted they were in the science, it became one of their favorite bedtime stories, and it seemed one of the favorites for their mother to tell.

It spoke of a man who traveled from an advanced society in the east, that was destroyed in a single night. The man was a very gifted and intelligent person, with hair and eyes of gold. As they got older the boys had assumed that was just something their mother had thrown in on her own, and not a part of the actual tale. Either way, this great philosopher was the one who spread the knowledge of alchemy all throughout the country.

Ed didn't really think anything of it when years later, Ling had mentioned having a similar tale in Xing about a philosopher from the west. That was how tales like that worked. Their was a grain of truth in it, an actual ancient city, but that didn't really mean that their had only been one philosopher, it was probably a multitude of alchemist who escaped the dieing advanced land.

Then he found out his father's role in the destruction of his ancient home, and the manipulative nature of the original spread of alchemy in Amestris. The story was true, and he understood just why his mother had loved to tell them it so much. He couldn't help but feel slightly bitter about how the passage of time had twisted her understanding of the tale. It wasn't his father the tale of the philosopher from the east spoke of. That was the Xing version of the story that she wanted, but there hadn't really been any way of her to have known that.

Maybe it was better that way. She was nearly right, and old tales like that were twisted all the time. How would once more hurt?


	23. Night

Hello everyone. This one was inspired by a combination of the theme and the song sleepyhead by Passion Pit. We play it really loud in my visual class a lot, and it's really fun. Anyway, here's the drabble, hope you enjoy.

**Theme: **Night  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Edward, Alphonse  
><strong>Summary: <strong>It had taken Ed a while to sleep after the night they'd burnt down their home.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga/Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>392

Sleepy Head

Ed didn't sleep the night they'd burnt down their home and left town. He said it was because the train ride was keeping him up, but Alphonse wasn't so sure. It had already been late when they left, the flames lighting up the country side as they walked away from the only home they'd ever known. It was pretty clear that Ed was slightly out of it the next day, but really, they both were. The reality of what they'd done had yet to sink in.

The second night Ed had managed to sleep, but it wasn't very much, and clearly unsettled. He'd toss and turn, waking up hourly before struggling back into a light unconsciousness. Whenever he awoke, the wavering flicker of the streetlight from outside would reflect in his eyes, and Al couldn't help but see fire dancing across the gold. That was when it became clear that even if he was physically capable of sleeping, he would have had just as much trouble as the older boy.

It was the third night when Alphonse was really starting to get worried. It was obvious that Edward was tired, plain and simple, but he was having just as much luck as the night before. The moon was high up in the sky, and Al could already see a difference in the sky here with the sky in Risembool or Dubluth. Despite this, he could still tell that it was late, even without a clock, and Ed was still awake. The armored soul still saw fire burning inside his eyes, but tried to just ignore it as he spoke.

"Ed?" he asked quietly, quickly getting the older boy's attention. "Do you think this was really a good idea?" he didn't know anymore. Edward was almost instantly nodding though, looking almost as determined as before the event that had started this whole mess.

"Of course, we don't have any other choice. I'm going to get your body back," the blonde said firmly, and if he could, Al would have smiled. Instead, he just leaned back slightly against the wall and stared into the eyes of fire that seemed to light up the night.

"Then sleep," he commanded, and Ed smiled and laid back down onto the bed. He stayed that way until morning.

Edward never had a problem sleeping after that third night.


	24. Expectations

Hey everyone, it's time for the next installment of this. I don't usually write about Ling, especially when he's not LingGreed, so this was a little hard. I hope it came out alright though. I like twists on royalty, and as always, please review and tell me what you think.

**Theme: **Expectations  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Ling  
><strong>Summary: <strong>As prince, there was quite a lot of things that others expected of him.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>325

Princely Proper

It didn't surprise Ling when the Elric brothers laughed at the though of him being a prince. Not with the way they had met after all, and even if it had been in a less… odd way, the chances of their reactions being anything but complete surprise and denial were slim. He just didn't fit the whole royal stereotype, after all.

As prince, here was quite a lot of things that others expected of him, both wherever he traveled and back home in Xing. He wasn't quite able to fill all of those expectations, but he managed to get by enough that he was in a serious running for the successor. Of course, if his clan had been lower in the line to begin with, like the Chan clan, then he probably wouldn't have been as lucky.

Sure, what he was suppose to act like was different than what the Elrics or other people of Amestris would imagine, but the main stigma was still there. Proper and more powerful than any of the common folk, with an air of someone with a strong purpose.

He didn't want to have to lose himself in those expectations though, like he'd seen so many of the other royal children do. So he kept his sense of humor, the fact that he ate like a dog, that he would never pay for anything. These were the things that made people do a double take when they found out his identity, but he didn't mind it. If that was the price of being himself, he could easily pay it.

It didn't matter really, if he didn't exactly fit the mold people wanted of him. He was able to be respectful and strong, like any good prince around the king, and once he found the secret of immortality, those little things that kept him his own person wouldn't be a factor. He would because king, no matter what people's expectations were.


	25. Stripes

Akk, sorry for being kind of late for this chapter. Forgot I was suppose to update today. X_X Anyway, it took me the longest time to think of what to do for Stripes, even though it was one of the themes that intrigued me the most. Well, this is what I got. Hope you like it, and as always, please review.

**Theme: **Stripes  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Wrath, Sloth  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Even as a monster, he could still be curious about the simplest things.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>372

Pointless Questions

The childlike homunculus known as Wrath kicked his mismatched legs up in front of him, frowning slightly as a question formed in his head. He'd been with the others, monsters like himself, but he'd never really noticed it before now.

"Mommy?" he called out to a woman who was seated across the room, scribbling on several papers. He'd followed her to work, and she said he was allowed to stay as long as he didn't let anyone else see him. Luckily, not many people would come into her office unannounced, since it was just a few steps away from walking in on the Fuhrer directly.

"Yes?" Sloth answered without looking up from her work, not that it bothered Wrath any. He was still starting at his legs anyway, so he would not have even noticed if she'd looked up in the first place.

"Why do we have these stripe things?" he asked, putting his one leg down to continue kicking them back and forth, looking and sounding like a normal child for once. He usually did when around the brunette woman, at least more often than any other time. Sloth actually looked up from her papers at this, not understanding the question at first. It didn't take her very long to figure out what he was talking about though, quickly spotting the red strips that ran down the child's legs, stopping a bit above his knees. She hadn't ever thought about it either, but each one of them did have similar markings on them.

It was almost like their ouroboros, only not as important, it seemed. It didn't appear to do anything for them, but then again, she didn't know of anyone trying to mess with those strange stripe like markings.

"I don't see why it matters, we have them because we do," she said blankly, and Wrath stared at the lines before letting his legs drop back down again. It didn't seem like the best answer, but it was better than none, at least.

"Okay," he said simply, continuing to kick his legs to amuse himself, quickly pushing any thoughts of the meaningless stripes to the back of his mind. If mommy said it didn't matter, then he guessed it didn't.


	26. Do Not Disturb

Hello everyone. This was interesting to write, since I never really think about manga sloth all that much. He didn't really do anything, which actually fits him very well. I felt that I should at least give it a try though, and I don't think the result is that bad. Well, hope you like it.

**Theme: **Do Not Disturb  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Sloth  
><strong>Summary: <strong>No matter how much he wanted to stop, the homunculus must keep on moving forward.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>375

On and On

The huge lumbering beast clawed at the ground in front of him. It was pitch black in the underground tunnel, but he didn't really notice or care. Took too much effort to do either. Slowly the path was expanded, as it had been doing for as long as he could remember, not that he really tried to remember. Nothing was there to stop him from his work.

It wasn't that the underground pathway was completely devoid of life besides the pained monster forced to dig. No, he knew that if something were to disturb him from his work, even if it was simply himself, the shadows would spring to life around him. That's why he must keep digging, to keep father and Pride at bay.

"Such a… bother…" the embodiment of slothfulness murmured, and he would have been surprised that he even managed to get those words out, if he cared enough to feel anything. He couldn't though, it wasn't in his nature, so he just continued to dig forward in the path the living shadows that was his older brother had marked out for him. How he wanted to stop, to be able to do absolutely nothing, but he wasn't allowed to be disturbed from his work. Father needed this tunnel completed by the time of the promised day.

The chains around his wrists clanked together as he continued forward at the same pace that he always went at, except for those times when he would slack off to sleep, and those horribly sharp shadows would awake him and force him to move on and on. Once the tunnel was done he could rest. Once the promised day had arrived and father's plan was finally completed. They would promised him these things, the disembodied voice echoing around his ever growing tunnel, and that was the only thing that would truly get him up and going again.

He must keep digging, nothing could disturb him. It was only once he was done that he could rest. It wouldn't be long now, and if he could bother to feel anything at all, it might have just been excitement.


	27. Obsession

Hello peoples. In case you didn't know, Russell and Fletcher are two of my favorite characters from the first anime. I feel like there's just so much you can do with them, they're almost like an exaggerated Ed and Al. Anyway, here's the next drabble (what number are we on now? 27? Dang)

**Theme: **Obsession  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Russell; Fletcher  
><strong>Summery: <strong>It seemed that not even sleep would get between Russell and his research anymore.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>380

One More Sleepless Night

Fletcher Tringham quietly walked down the stairs of the mansion he and his brother were staying in. It was definitely the nicest place either of them had ever lived, but that was only because they hadn't really been 'themselves' since they'd got there. It was well pasted midnight though, but that wasn't exactly the thing on his mind.

Reaching the door to their borrowed lab, he carefully peaked inside, and had to hold back a sigh at what he saw. Even though it was becoming more and more common, it was still a bit disappointing. The more they researched the red water, the more pulled in Russell would become in their research, and the more nights Fletcher would find him cooped up in the lab.

As he went to shut the door, he'd apparently taken too long, Russell having seen him.

"Fletcher? What are you doing up?" he asked, actually using his real name for once. Probably because it was so late, the chances of anyone overhearing them were slim. Reluctantly, the younger boy stepped into the room.

"I was just going to the bathroom, and I heard something in the lab," he explained, lying. Russell couldn't tell though, and just nodded before looking back down at the experiment in front of him.

"Alright, just make sure you get back to bed soon, it's late," Russell said, and Fletcher nodded, starting to head back towards the door and his room. Pausing for a second, he turned back towards his older brother.

"You too, okay?" he said quietly, hoping that maybe the stubborn, obsessed boy would actually listen to him for once. He just nodded absently though, and Fletcher could tell that he was already too far gone in his research to have processed the request, let alone actually follow it. Leaving for real this time, he made his way back to his borrowed room. Everything they had was borrowed for now, even their names.

Sighing, the blonde laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, any weariness he'd had before evaporating with the worry he felt. Russell just couldn't stop thinking about the red water, and Fletcher just couldn't stop thinking about Russell.

It was going to be one more sleepless night for the both of them.


	28. Woman

Hello internet. Here's two people I almost never write for, but this was still rather fun. I kind of wish I could say more, but my mind isn't working at the moment, so I'll stop talking just to talk and get on with the drabble.

**Theme: **Woman  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Roy; Lust  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Even as she crumbled away dying, he had to admit she was stunningly beautiful.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>386

Femme Fatale

Roy Mustang stared straight ahead as the scorched, crumbling beast now only barely resembling the form of a human lunged towards him again and again and again. Each time, he would snap his fingers and send it flying back, not even hearing the pained shrieks it let out anymore.

After what felt like a near eternity from the pain, blood loss and burn scars, with one last snap the homunculus stopped in it's tracks, and Roy was able to get a clear look at her for the first time since the battle had begun. The explosions and smoke had obscured his view before. He didn't let any sort of emotion pierce his eyes as he watched her start to crumble away, not wanting to give the enemy any sort of pleasure. The words she spoke finally starting to register in his mind.

"_You won." _she started, and Mustang just stared as the razor sharp blade that constituted as her finger started to crackle away. "_I hate to lose, but if I must die, I'm glad it's at the hands of a man like you,"_ Lust continued.

"_Those eyes, so clear and focused. I love them. I look forward to seeing those eyes become clouded from suffering,"_ her skin had almost completely gave way to the underlying muscle, but most of it was still blocked from his view due to the lingering smoke of the battle. He didn't under stand how something so hideous could still be so beautiful at the same time.

"_That day will come… very… soon…_" the black haired man paid no attention to the dying monster's prediction, instead mustering his strength to stand and stare at the clean white bones now stripped of everything that'd once been on them, making up his opponent's being started to fade away into specks of dust as well.

She wasn't human. She was a monster, and had directly threaten and nearly killed some of those most close to him. It was his only option, and he'd already killed hundreds who hadn't deserved it, one who did would make no difference.

Despite all of this, even as he collapsed over from the pain of battle, he could not help but admit that she was a stunning woman. A regular femme fatale, with a pair of claws to match.


	29. Love

Hi y'all. This one was pretty difficult, since I don't really write many love or romance related things. As a result, this one wasn't actually as fluffy as most people probably would have made the prompt. Oh well, I hope that you all enjoy it anyway.

**Theme: **Love  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Hoenheim  
><strong>Summary: <strong>I wish I'd gotten to know her, before I fell in love…  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>462

First Sight Setbacks

No one ever told you the bad side about love at first sight. Maybe if they had, a young and promising alchemist by the prestigious name of Hoenheim of Light would have thought twice about going to any length to win over the heart of the beautiful woman who was to become his assistant. Of course, they hadn't, only talking about the wonderful and romantic notions of the concept, and he quickly started to woo the blonde woman. Her name was Dante, but it hadn't mattered to him, he was already too far gone before he even found out.

It hadn't taken very much work to get her to feel the same way, the powerful lady impressed and intrigued by his knowledge and looks. What they saw in themselves is what they saw in each other, and it wasn't long before their combined talents and the reassurance of the other started to escalate into the completion of grander and grander plans. It wasn't surprising that when their happiness was at it's peak, they would want it to last forever. The hasty decision to fall for each other quickly became a not so hasty but still unwise plan to act out on their desires.

The entire project seemed to have backfired at first, but Dante had managed to save him. Soul fused to another body, they'd found their key. There still wasn't any sort of doubt in the alchemist's mind about his choice to fall in love. She'd saved his life, and both of their egos fed off of each other like wild fire, and they really thought they could do anything.

It was only logical to the two when their first and only child tragically died much too early, some unattended mercury that neither could remember or confess to having left out poisoning the boy, they decided that it was well within their power to bring him back. It wasn't until _that _went horribly wrong and Hoenheim of Light had to almost immediately transfer into another body to keep from dieing of blood loss did it begin to dawn on him.

That horrible beast Dante was cooing over wasn't their child. They'd destroyed an entire city for their own personal gain. If he'd never loved that woman, he would be an old alchemist, probably with a different family and close to ending his life.

He left after that, the regret heavy and instantaneous. He could say it was her fault, that she had been the one to push him towards it all, but he'd been the one to activate both the circles to destroy the town and turn their child into a monster.

He'd been the one foolish enough to believe that love at first sight could possibly lead to something good.


	30. War

Hey everybody. Sorry this one was posted kind of late, I didn't get home until late (was in New York for the second time ever and it was totally fun and I had a blast) but decided to at least get it up before the day ends. This was very interesting to write, I never really think about Dr. Knox, but somehow inspiration struck in the strangest way.

**Theme: **War  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Dr. Knox  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Nothing's smelling like a rose…  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>485

A Day's Work

A gruff middle aged man tried not to turn his nose up at the putrid smell of several more very near death bodies being lugged into his operating room. It wasn't really an operating room though, more like a morgue, or some sort of sick laboratory.

"Got another batch for ya, doctor," another man, the one who'd wheeled the pathetic beings inside said, and the doctor said nothing as he pulled the first body out of the small heap and onto the table. He tried not to scowl at what he'd been called. He was technically a doctor, but there was no way he could ever thing to call himself that anymore.

The man on the table was absolutely scorched, but this wasn't the first time Dr. Knox has seen something like this. Oh no, it was all to common now a days, although it wasn't only fire. Once they brought the state alchemist in for the extermination, each body seemed to be mangled beyond belief in new ways he'd never would have thought of. Sometimes he wouldn't even get a full body. They always managed to be brought in alive though, somehow.

The burned man on the table was barely moaning, and he could tell that he wasn't going to last very long at all. He would have been surprised that he was still living after all this, if it wasn't for the fact that he long felt incapable of being truly shocked about anything after watching and participating in the absolute horrors that constituted as a war.

Carefully examining the burned and exposed flesh, he was barely able to touch anything without what was left of the Ishbalan man choking out in pain. Meanwhile the smell in the room worsened, and it became obvious that a few of his other 'patients' had died. He tried to ignore it as he took down a few notes about the severity of the burns and other injuries, including one that let him see several ribs covered in blood poking out of the flesh.

Finally the Dr. Knox lost his patients and snapped at the other man waiting and watching on the other side of the room.

"Don't just stand there! Take the dead out back, they're no use and it reeks like hell in here!" he yelled, and the soldier quickly nodded and began hulling the dead away. The black haired man didn't say anything else after that except to instruct another soldier to take the now deceased Ishbalan away before he began working on the next one.

Once again he barely managed to hold back the gagging sensation from the horrid smell that easily penetrated his thin paper mask. Every time it was exactly the same, but this was his job, and so he somehow managed to block everything else and analyze the dieing coldly.

All in a day's work for the war, after all.


	31. Memory

Hello everybody. This one was actually kind of hard to write, since I hardly ever write Ed, let alone contemplating, internal Ed. I hope it turned out all right though. Well, as always, hope you like it, and please review.

**Theme: **Memory  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Ed  
><strong>Summary: <strong>It was probably one of his fondest memories, if he really thought about it.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime/Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>376

Guiding Lights

The blonde haired teen couldn't help but smile at the bright light flashing on the second story of the Rockbell's home. He explained the significance to a slightly confused Alex Armstrong that when they were children, their mother would shine a light from the top floor of their old house whenever they were out too late, in order to help guide them back safely. Winry had been with them enough times to have followed the light herself, and clearly remembered it.

Al started laughing slightly at his side, and began running towards the light. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that the light was shining from their home at the top of the hill, that it wasn't lying in a charred mess on the ground.

He could picture that maybe it was his mother flicking the beam on and off in an attempt to catch their attention, that maybe she hadn't succumbed to that horrible illness years ago.

If he concentrated hard enough he could almost make himself believe that he couldn't hear the metal clanging of his brother's artificial body, that they'd never made that horrible decision that left them on this god forsaken quest.

When he opened his eyes the illusion built up from his memories was quickly dismantled, but the small smile didn't leave his face. Al was still laughing after all, and even if it wasn't their mother or their house, it was as close to a home that they would ever get again, he was pretty sure. The simple little gesture managed to bring back a memory he'd almost forgotten about, as well as something else.

He needed to hurry up and get things back to the way they were. There were people waiting for them back home, and that lit a fire inside of him. He wasn't going to quit until they were all back home. Each flashing light of alchemy would be his guide from now on.

Quickening his pace, Edward started running after his younger brother towards their home. It was almost exactly like in his memories, although not really. It was close enough though, and if he tried hard enough, he could find himself back in the past almost. That was all he needed.


	32. Horror

Hello peeps. Well, isn't this an appropriate theme for the day after Halloween? I kind of fear that it isn't exactly horror enough, but I hope that you all like it anyway. Also, I hope you all had a happy Halloween. We only had like, two trick or treaters come to my house all night.

**Theme: **Horror  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Roy  
><strong>Summary: <strong>You already know how this will end.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>347

The Last Sacrifice

No one knew what to expect when the black glob of shadow dripped out of the opening in the ceiling, followed by the child like homunculus. Up against two homunculus, their hopes seemed rather grim, and that only increased when Wrath managed to very efficiently pin Roy Mustang to the floor, and Pride wrap more of the shadows around his body to keep him still.

Mustang could just see the golden toothed scientist get stabbed by his allies and hovered above his head in a solid black binding.

"That'll make five," Pride said, his voice practically devoid of any emotion, and despite every effort to escape, Mustang already knew that it was hopeless. The Elric brothers had told him the consequences of human transmutation, and it was obvious that he couldn't help but play right into the enemy's hand.

"The last human sacrifice," the homunculus president said above him, and Roy felt his stomach drop as the blades were pulled out of his hands. Against his will the light of the circle made of shadows started to envelope them, until he couldn't heard the screams of the others. Soon, it was only him and Pride, although even then he could barely recognize that, instead the question arrogant sin had said moments ago replaying in his head. I wonder what kind of toll you'll have to pay.

His eyes grew wide at the sight of his body dispersing into nothing, and soon he found himself in a place he'd heard about several times. If he didn't know what it meant, he probably wouldn't be as horrified as he was at the moment. The pure white figure smiling at him put chills in his spine, and once again he knew that there was no way for him to fight back.

The most fear inducing, terrifying and horrible part of it wasn't the question or the unknown aspect of what was going to happen. No, it was the fact that he already knew how this would end, the only question was what terrible event would bring him to that ending.


	33. Grey

Hi peoples. This theme escaped me for a while, before I finally got the idea to do something with the contrasting color schemes in the movie. Plus, a kid in my visual class is doing a series of pieces showing the beauty of the color grey, and they're really good, so it kind of inspired me. Anyway, hope you like the chapter.

**Theme: **Grey  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Alphonse  
><strong>Summary: <strong>There was something about this world that just seemed… dull.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>466

Artist's Color Pallet

After everything had finally managed to settle down slightly and his mind stopped buzzing and panicking at every other thing he saw, Alphonse Elric tried to get a grasp of the world that was now his home. It was different, and there were some truly amazing things about it. The technology here was so advanced, even without alchemy. He missed his old home yes, but there was still something intriguing about this new place.

There was just once little thing that wouldn't stop bothering him. Everything here seemed just a bit… dull. It was like a grey film had been lightly layered over everything equally, half the time he felt it was just his eyes messing with him. Ed said that he didn't really notice anything, but maybe he'd just been here too long, and he was just used to it.

At first the blonde had thought it might be from all the smoke and soot he would see coming out of factories and the like covering everything and darkening the sky, but Ed said that if that was the case then there would be dust everywhere, and there obviously wasn't. Al had to agree that made sense.

Well, if that wasn't it, and he knew it wasn't his eyes, then the only thing he could really think of it to be was that the colors in this world just simply weren't as vibrate as the ones back home. It made him a bit sad. Even when he was the armor, something he could remember now, his sense of sight had remained unchanged, unlike every other sense he'd had. The fact that there was a hindrance now, even just this small thing, bothered him slightly.

He tried once again to just ignore it though. Even drab, it really wasn't that much when he thought about it. Ed didn't even notice after all. Plus, there was nothing wrong with a more muted color pallet. It was simply a matter of preference, and even if he would have liked the brightness of his old home, he supposed he could get used to this as well.

It wasn't like it was the most jarring aspect of switching dimensions, after all.

It helped the blonde to think of it almost as if he was living inside of a painting. This artist wasn't afraid of a more reserved color pallet. Even just a bunch of greys could be beautiful when applied with enough care and thought.

And really, this world was beautiful. A different beauty from what he was used to, but it would grow on him. It was his home now after all, and he was no stranger to the dull color. It was the shade of armor that constituted as his entire being for so many years, after all.


	34. All That I Have

Hey y'all. New drabble time. I liked writing this one, it was fun. Plus, it's no secret that Pride is one of my more favorite characters, and it's a lot easier for me to write him because I've had practice. Well, hope you all like it, and please review.

**Theme: **All That I Have  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Pride, Father  
><strong>Summary: <strong>He'd give the being that created him everything, and with no regrets. That's what a child is supposed to do, after all.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>498

To Please the Devil Himself

"Yes Father."

Those words swarmed around the child like homunculus' head as he made his way back to the underground sanctum where the human sacrifices were sure to be by now. The promised day was upon them, and even if things weren't going exactly as expected, it was nothing that could possibly foil their plans.

Those two, simple words were the answer to any command or request the powerful being had ever given him during his entire life. Over four hundred years of servitude, and it was about to pay off. He was practically giddy, or at least, he would be as soon as they tied up a few loose ends. They still needed that final sacrifice, as far as he knew at least, and he had to get back quickly to make sure nothing went wrong with their plan.

That's what he told himself, at least. In a strange moment of internal thought, he stopped for a second in his rush back. Perhaps it had not been the best idea to talk to Alphonse Elric about mother. It really didn't matter though, Father came first. As soon as the solar eclipse was complete, he'd never see that odd woman again, and that was… fine. If it pleased Father, then it was fine.

Starting off again, the ancient sin sorted through the thoughts in his head. Father had been the one to create him, and as such, it was his duty to carry though with his plans. Father needed him to carry though with his plans. He was the first homunculus, the most important. They wouldn't be able to get everything done if he didn't do exactly what Father instructed of him. The lesser sins could die and try to rebel and whatever other foolishness they occupied themselves with, but as long as he stood by the one who created them all, they had to win. There wasn't any other option.

And… and once the promised day was complete, and Father had become a god… when the entire world he'd known for his long life was destroyed beyond recognition and recreated anew then… Father would have time for him. There would be no more ultimate goal to work towards, and Father would be happy. He'd be happy with him, because he'd been the one who'd given everything to make it happen. He'd even sacrifice his pride, the core of his being, if it came down to it. It wouldn't though, so he didn't need to worry.

The child, because that's all he truly was on the inside, began to quicken his pace. The promised day was upon them, and he needed to get by Father's side by the time the solar eclipse started.

He wanted to be there to see Father truly happy for the first time in his long, long life. He'd give up Mother, his pride, his life to see that happen, and now that the day was finally there, he wasn't going to miss it.


	35. Dreams

Hello every people. Another drabble time. This one ended up being longer than I had originally thought it would be, but I guess that isn't a bad thing per say, or at least, I hope it's not. Well, as always, hope you like, not much else to say about that.

**Theme: **Dreams  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Alfons Hiedrich, Ed  
><strong>Summary: <strong>He wasn't sure if they were just stories, or dreams, or what, but at the very least, they were interesting.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>570

Other Worldly

"And then the four of us ran out of there. Turns out those impostors actually had some kind of talent, since they managed to get rid of the red water using the trees, which was the little brother's idea," Alfons nodded as Ed went on about another one of the adventures he'd apparently taken part in when he was in another world. It'd actually taken quite a while for the blonde boy to start talking about them, but once he managed to get up the nerve, it was quite obvious he enjoyed it.

Perhaps a little bit too much. At first, there was something just a little off about the stories, but after a while they ran into a full on fantasy realm. That would have been fine, if Ed didn't insist that they were all still completely true.

He didn't like to think that his friend was mentally unhinged, but it was hard to think of any other explanation for the magical alchemy and colorful characters Ed painted with his words. He'd asked his father about it, but hadn't gotten a straight answer out of the man. He was probably ashamed, which Alfons chalked up as one of the reasons their relationship was so strained.

It was obvious though that none of this was really dangerous, at least not for anyone besides Ed, so the blue eyed teen wasn't worried about living with him or anything like that. In fact, it was probably safer to live with him due to all the connections he drew between Alfons and his mysterious brother who he was so protective of.

Alfons had deducted that the start of this had probably been Edward's brother's death and the related loss of his limbs, and he just hadn't been able to accept it. So he made a fanciful world where he was on a mission to set things right again. It was hard to not feel sympathy for him, but he knew it wasn't something that he would want.

"And then what happened? After the trees exploded?" the blonde asked, wondering about just where all this originated from. Did he go around actually seeing all of this instead of reality, and only recently came out of his illusion? Or maybe they were all just dreams that he clung onto in a desperate attempt at fighting fate.

"Well they didn't just explode, they turned bright red, and then this blue, darker than the sky, almost like sapphires. Brighter than any of the colors here though, you know the colors here are never as bright," Ed said matter-of-factly, and Alfons smiled and nodded again. If he'd wrote down his stories, they would be a best seller for sure. The imagery he projected when he wanted to was stunning, as if he'd actually seen it in real life, ironically.

Really, he wasn't sure if these were just stories he made up, or saw in some sort of cloudy illusions, or dreams. They did manage to captivate him though, and maybe that was why his insistence on the older boy that they weren't actually real had lessened over time. He seemed to need them so badly, he didn't really want to see what Ed would look like if his dreams shattered around him. So he just smiled and listened instead. It wouldn't hurt anyone, it was really helping Ed cope in the long run, and they sure were interesting.


	36. Trouble Lurking

Greetings everybody. Sorry this chapter was a day off schedule. Stayed after school until ten working on spirit week stuff, but we won, so it was totally worth it. Little tidbit of my life, my school gets very into spirit week. It gets intense. Anyway, here's the drabble now, and I hope you enjoy.

**Theme: **Trouble Lurking  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Father  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Everything was falling into place, and the promised day was nearly upon them.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>373

Sacrificial Preparations

Father looked down at the small, checker board like chart he had down in front of him. Everything was nearly complete, and the promised day he'd been waiting for oh so long was only a month away now. The homunculus he had left, everyone except for Lust and a newly treacherous Greed were working well and hard on his plans. The underground tunnel Sloth had dug out was finished, Pride and Wrath had a close eye on all circuits of the military, as well as the movement of several sacrifices. Envy and Gluttony were doing what they did best, being used for orders, brute force and the part of their jobs that needed people to get their hands dirty.

Soon it would all be over, and he would have achieved his ultimate goal, started all those hundreds of years ago when he was still trapped inside of that flask and carted around by that fool Von Hoenheim.

Looking at the small doll like figurines that represented the human sacrifices sadly necessary for his plan to be fully achieved, he had to remind himself that not all was finished quite yet. He still only had four confirmed sacrifices, and less than a month to get the last one. This did not bother him too much though, already having a clear candidate in his mind for such a prestigious position.

Other than that though, there wasn't much else that could possibly halt his plans. He knew that none of the sacrifices would have the clear and selfish sense to flee the country. They would fall right into his hands, as the easily manipulated insects that they truly were. They really thought that they had some sort of a fighting chance too, it was pathetic. Or at least, it would be, if they had even been worthy enough of getting any sort of response out of him at all.

Yes, it was not long now at all. Practically a blink of an eye in comparison to his long life so far. Before the world knew it, he would gain his rightful place as a god, and finally be free of any sort of boundaries, any sort of flask, that could even possibly try to contain him.


	37. Words

I was almost late again. Sorry about that, was cleaning all day. Hurray, first step to moving out of this crumbling house. Anyway, here's the next drabble, I hope you all enjoy it.

**Theme: **Words  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Dante  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Equivalent exchange. What was it really, but two words used to ease the minds of the weak?  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>406

Blind Beliefs 

Dante thought to herself as the philosopher's stone was being prepared. What she had told that foolish Elric boy had been the truth. She had lived long enough and watched too many people struggle helplessly before finally dieing no better off than where they started to know what that child refused to acknowledge as fact.

Equivalent exchange? What was that really? In order to obtain, something of equal value must be lost. And what if you lost something, and didn't gain anything in return? Or what if someone had the world handed to them, in exchange for absolutely nothing? It happened every day, and yet those boys, all of humanity practically, couldn't see the huge faults behind those two simple words. Why, even she herself had believed that lie at one point, when she had been human. Before she had lost the love of her life.

Really, if anyone thought about it, they'd see that they were being fed the same lies that religion often used. Do this, and your life will turn out better. If you don't, then any suffering you have is obviously your own fault. Such easy lies to believe, to trick yourself into thinking that you actually had control of your own fate. It was all just words, they weren't real, and anyone could say them.

No, she had managed to open her eyes to the truth, and become more than human in the process. By accepting that she had no control, that things did not turn out fairly, she had managed to figure out how to tip that random scale in her favor. She was no longer bound by that senseless notion of equivalent exchange, and therefore, she could take without giving, even without a philosopher's stone. She was her own stone.

Of course, having an actual stone did help when looking at alchemy alone, and so she made sure she had that too. She could take hundreds of peoples lives, because life wasn't fair, and the sooner that people realized this, the better off they would be. If people were as stubborn as Edward Elric and his brother were though, then she doubted there would be any hope for them at all.

She was perfectly fine with that. Let them believe their fragile words of hope and salvation, the religion of scientist. It allowed her to rise above all of them, with the truth of the world as her weapon.


	38. Last Hope

Hello everybody. Gosh, why do I keep almost forgetting to update this? Well, here's the next drabble. For some reason, I tend to write Hoenheim a lot for these, don't I? Strange, seeing as I never really write him for anything else.

**Theme: **Last Hope  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Hoenheim  
><strong>Summary: <strong>If he was their only hope, then it was no wonder the entire civilization had been destroyed.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>394

When All Seems Lost…

A distraught Von Hoenheim aimlessly wondered the desert area that surrounded his once beloved home. How could this have happened? The dwarf in the flask, homunculus, had tricked them all. Hoenheim could still hear the endless shrieks of the hundreds of souls inside of him, but they were duller than when he'd first noticed then, but it didn't help to disturb him any less.

He'd just… he'd just stood there and let it happen. He had been the one closest to Homunculus, even more than master had been. The Dwarf had said it was because he was created out of the blonde man's blood, but that didn't matter to Hoenheim now. All that did was the fact that he could have stopped it. How many times could he have easily destroyed that flask and saved everyone he'd ever cared about? He would have been punished beyond imagine, maybe even killed, but it would have been worth it if everyone else was able to survive.

He didn't have a single clue though. How could he not have seen what that beast was planning? Looking back on it now it was all so obvious, but he'd missed every single one of the tell tale signs. He just wanted to escape, he had no desire to help the emperor or their country. Why couldn't he had seen that?

Because he owned the monster. He brought him up from the ranks of slavery into a dignified and respected member of society, all seemingly to repay the debt of giving him life. It never occurred to him that Homunculus had much more sinister plans, and every time it had acted suspicious, the blonde alchemist had simply shrugged it off.

The words from his first meeting with the dwarf played back in his head. He really was an idiot, no matter how much alchemy he learned and how far he dragged himself up the social ladder. His understanding of the dwarf inside the flask had been the last hope anyone could have had for the fate of their beautiful country, and he'd completely blew it. It he'd never gave his blood, if he'd just destroyed that stupid, fragile flask. He was just an idiotic slave boy though, he hadn't known any better.

And if that had been their last hope, it was no wonder that they were all dead now.


	39. Mother

Speed update time. In the middle of cleaning out my entire house for moving, and taking a tiny break to post this. Well I need it, dragging huge bags of all my junk up and down stairs is hurting my back. Haha, you don't want to hear me complain, so I'll shut up and just say hope you enjoy the chapter. Surprised it took me this long to write something about Izumi

**Theme: **Mother  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Izumi; Alphonse  
><strong>Summary: <strong>It truly was hard for her to keep anything from those boys, including herself.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga/anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>639

Substitute

Izumi wiped the last of the blood away from her mouth and inspected herself in the mirror for any other signs of damaged, pleased to have found none. So far, those boys had yet to learn about her… ailment, and she planned to keep it that way as long as possible. How was she suppose to teach them if they pitied or worried about her? Luckily, this attack had happened during the night, and neither had been awake to see.

The sound of something moving around the house reached her ears, and she quickly looked out of the room to see the younger brother standing in the hallway.

"Alphonse," she called as she stepped out of the bathroom, watching as he jolted as she must of scared him. "what are you doing awake?" she asked, and the blonde's eyes settled on her at last, his fear quickly subsiding.

"Oh, I thought I heard someone out here, but I guess it was only you teacher," the polite boy explained, and Izumi nodded. Before she was able to tell him that everything was fine and he should go back and sleep for training in the morning, she could feel her insides quake with the warnings of another fit. Alphonse's eyes widened and he ran over to her as she dispelled into a hard coughing session.

"Teacher! Are you okay? Teacher? Ed!" he yelled, but she managed to quickly pull herself together and stop him before he woke his brother, but she hadn't managed to keep him from seeing the blood.

"I'm fine, there's no need to worry," she told him calmly, but the terror in his eyes didn't subside in the least, and he quickly shook his head. The black haired woman wasn't sure if she'd even seen Alphonse look this dead set before, usually it was his brother with the stubborn streak. Then again, he was the one that seemed much more empathetic to others.

"No! You've been keeping this from us, haven't you? You have to get help! You can't end up like mom!" he demanded, growing silent after the last part and staring at the floor. Izumi had been told that they no longer had any parents, but didn't bother for any of the details. Apparently, hidden sicknesses were something they were used to. "Just…" the blonde started again, "just please go to the doctor tomorrow," he said quietly, and Izumi smiled at him.

"There's no need," she started, and could see Alphonse already starting to argue, but continued and cut him off, "I've already been to the doctors, I'll be fine. I can even show you the medicine if you don't believe me," she finished explaining, and slowly the child in front of her started to nod.

"You should get off to bed now, we'll explain to Edward in the morning," Izumi said, and Alphonse nodded again, before nearly running back to the room they were staying in. Before he went inside though, he turned back towards her, a look of sever concentration on his face. Even though he was a year younger, he was just as smart as Edward, and Izumi couldn't help but think wiser as well.

"You promise you wont end up like mom?" he asked, and she couldn't help but be intrigued about how he'd worded that question. She'd always wanted to be a mother, but here he was explicitly asking her to not end up like his own.

"I wont, now sleep," she said, and with that he went into his room. Heading right back into the bathroom, she began to clean herself off again. It was true when she said she would not end up like those boy's mother. Even after they stopped being her students, she didn't think there was any way she could just leave them, sickness or not.


	40. Hero

I don't even have an excuse for waiting until so late today, I was home all day since I missed the bus. I just kind of forgot. Sorry about that. Anyway, here's just some cute Pride stuff, since you know I can't help but do something like this every now and then.

**Theme: **Hero  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Selim; Mrs. Bradley  
><strong>Summary: <strong>She always loved to hear him talk about what he wanted to be when he grows up.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>388

Of the Future

"Selim, what do you want to do when you grow up?" Mrs. Bradley asked her now nine year old son. She had already asked him this many times before, but he was as energetic about his answer this time as he had been the first time he'd explained it.

"I'm gonna be a state alchemist just like the Fullmetal alchemist and help father!" he told her happily, and the older woman smiled and nodded. Selim was sitting at the table now, doodling a few pictures. With the subject change, he grabbed another piece of paper and started haphazardly drawling a few imaginary transmutations circles. "Edward Elric has to be the coolest alchemist ever," he continued. "He became a state alchemist so young, I'm gonna be like him!"

The child's mother chuckled slightly before taking another sip of her tea and watched her child continue to rant on about the young alchemist he'd become quite obsessed with the past few months.

"Is Edward Elric your hero, Selim?" she asked, and the boy stopped sketching his half done circle to think. He tapped the blue crayon in his hand on the paper a few times before finally answering and continuing to draw a few triangles inside of the red circle he had already drawn out.

"Well, _Father's _my hero, but Edward's definitely a close second," he answered, and Mrs. Bradley couldn't help but smile at that answer. Even with how much he talked about the child prodigy, he still apparently looked up to his father more. Selim started on another childish transmutation circle before continuing. "He is the hero of the people though, which just makes him even cooler!" he declared happily.

"Well Selim, I have no doubt that you'll be able to become as great of an alchemist as Edward Elric when you grow up," his mother told him confidently. Selim practically beamed up at the woman before switching to another piece of paper, this one already full of multicolored circles and began drawling a few more.

"Yep! Once I grow up, I'll be able to help my hero…" he said before turning his entire focus on the imaginary circles in front of him. Once he grew up, that seemed like such a long ways away for any child.

And an infinity longer for one who will never age.


	41. Cold

Hello everyone. I really don't have too much to say, besides sorry for once again updating so late in the day. Well, with that out of the way, here's the next drabble, hope you like it, and please review.

**Theme: **Cold  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Alphonse  
><strong>Summary: <strong>It was really cold down here, but it was the perfect hiding place.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime/Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>529

Behind Frozen Armor

"Leave me alone!" seven year old Alphonse Elric yelled, slamming the basement door behind him and running to the first place he saw that would conceal him. Oh, sometimes Ed could just be so infuriating, not to mention mean. He hadn't meant to mess up whatever alchemy stuff Ed was working on. He was just curious, and he couldn't even go outside to cool off like he normally did. It was storming like crazy.

The first place he found happened to be curled up in a call behind the legs of one of the armored suits that were kept down here. He'd asked his mother about them before, but all she said was that they belonged to his father, although she didn't have a clue where he managed to get them.

After the heat from his anger had began to wear off, he started rubbing his arms together to try and work up some warmth. It sure was cold down here in the winter. The stone floor and wall were freezing him, as well as the steel armor that rubbed against him. That was probably the most cold, feeling almost like an icepack on his arm and side, but he couldn't move into a position where he wasn't touching it. If he did, whoever came down there was sure to find him just like that.

Wiping his eyes, he tried to dry the water off his face as fast as possible, it too causing chilling streaks to lower his temperature further. He wasn't about to go back upstairs though. He'd barely been down there five minutes, Ed would just call him a crybaby if he gave up that quick. He'd get used to the cold soon enough.

In the dim light, he could just barely see his breath forming cloudy splotches on the side of the armor leg, and absently drew a few circles with his finger. The chill of the air around him started to fade to the back of his mind as he thought about the huge piece. He wondered if his dad ever wore it. It had to be freezing if you were stuck inside there. Of course, if it was summer, then it'd probably just go the opposite way and feel like an oven.

"Alphonse, are you down here?" he heard his mother calling from the top of the stairs, and reluctantly wiped a hand over the cloudy pictures and crawled out of his hiding place. He'd been down there for about a half hour now, he supposed he could come back up.

"Yes, right here," he said softly, noticing the woman's look of relief at the sight of her youngest son.

"Edward says he's sorry, will you come up now?" she asked kindly, and Al nodded and began walking up the stairs.

"Hey mom?" he asked after he reached the top, and the brunette woman smiled down at him before answering.

"Yes dear?"

"It's really cold down there," he said, not meaning anything by it. It was just a simple observation, but it caused his mother to chuckle slightly as she nodded in agreement.

"I suppose it would be. It is winter after all."


	42. Annoyance

Hello every people. It's thanksgiving break now, hurray. I might actually be able to get stuff done. Anyway, here's another drabble for you all. Two characters I don't write too often, and first drabble with Bradley as one of the main focus characters.

**Theme: **Annoyance  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Envy, Wrath  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Even if he was new, he could still recognize an insecure middle child when he saw one.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>524

Middle Child Syndrome

"Wrath! I've had it with you acting like you run the place!" Envy yelled, barging up to the older looking man in the underground tunnels. Wrath sighed and turned back towards the other sin. It was obvious that he was still sore about the decision he'd made to let Roy Mustang live, but he wasn't brave enough to bring up something like that in front of Father, of course.

"Last time I checked, I did run this country, Envy," Wrath said humorlessly. Envy rolled his eyes and practically growled at him, but the uniformed sin wasn't very threatened in any way. The older being in front of him was a perfect case of strong but unskilled, and it would take much more than that to be of any worry to him.

"This isn't a joke! I don't care what you say. Mustang _isn't _a sacrifice, he should pay for what he did to Lust! We need to teach them a lesson!" Envy yelled, but Wrath turned away from him and continued his way down the tunnel towards his human home. "Arrogant jerk… get back here," he grumbled before chasing after the other man. Before he managed to catch up with him completely, Wrath stopped in his tracks. Glancing back with his uncovered eye, Envy could see the subtle fire burning underneath the youngest sin's exterior.

"Do you really think that he should be killed?" he asked, causing the other to halt slightly.

"O-of course I do! Why would I be saying this if I didn't?" the long haired sin asserted. Wrath didn't let any sign of emotion taint his voice as he answered.

"Then take this matter up with Father. I am not the one making the decisions, I simply suggested my plan, as you did yours, and Father chose which he thought was a better option. Are you saying Father was wrong?" Wrath asked again. The older sin glanced around the tunnel worriedly, as if their creator had heard every word.

"No, I don't think Father's wrong! Of course not! I-I just… We should…" Envy trailed off, not able to put together anything that wouldn't seem like he was trying to undermine their leader's authority. Wrath simply nodded, not looking very surprised with the other's reaction in the least.

"Exactly. While I may be younger than you in years, I believe that until you are able to make rational decisions that aren't overpowered by your emotions, you should stay out of everyone's way and just do the manual work. That way you wont be such an annoyance," Wrath told his stunned brother, before continuing down the tunnel and leaving the other where he stood.

Envy's face quickly contorted into one of blatant shock to fierce anger. He started smashing some of the walls around him, lashing out at anything he could that wasn't alive "That asshole! I am not annoying! I'm amazing! I'm strong! I'm smart! I'm… I'm…" he trailed off, staring around at the wrecked tunnel that Father would now have to fix. He wasn't annoying… He was just as helpful as everyone else, or else Father wouldn't have made him.

Right?


	43. Breath

Hey everybody. Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate it, and if you don't, hope you had a happy Thursday. That's why I didn't update yesterday, so sorry about that. Either way, here's the new drabble for you all. Enjoy.

**Theme: **Breath  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Alfons Heinrich  
><strong>Summary: <strong>He hated feeling like someone had set fire to his lungs. The weakness that came with knowing your life could end at any moment.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>414

Like Saltwater in Your Lungs

The young mechanic clutched one hand to his chest while keeping the other over his mouth. His breath was coming in ragged coughs, but he tried his best to make sure they were as quiet as he could physically make them. He was pretty sure Edward was still downstairs after all, and he didn't want to give the blonde boy anything to worry about.

Alfons desperately tried to get the oxygen necessary for life into his lungs, with little effect. He hated this feeling, with each short gasps quickly expelling itself as he coughed before it could truly get inside of his body. This attack was lasting longer than he was used to, and he was already starting to feel a bit light headed. He knew he had to breath, to stop coughing, and it was a struggle to keep himself from going into a panic as well. The attack would stop soon enough, they always did.

After what felt like an eternity, he could feel it airways in his throat open up more, and the breathing came easier. His lungs and chest still felt like they were on fire, but the blonde's head wasn't as dizzy anymore, and he slowly moved his hand away from his face, feeling confident that the attack was over.

As his hand moved away, a shimmer caught his attention, and by reflex he looked down to see what it was. Alfons' eyes widened at the wet red stain across his palm, but after a few moments, clutched his fist, as if to hide it. He knew that something like this would happen. His condition was obviously getting worse and worse as the days went by. Slowly, he tried to breath in as deep as he could, and wasn't able to get very far before the burning started to flare up again and he choked out into his fist a few times. It wasn't as bad as before, but one it was done the German teen cursed under his breath and headed to the bathroom to clean off his hand before anybody saw.

He knew his life was ending. This new advance in hi illness only helped solidify that fact. He absolutely hated the feeling. It was why he had to do something before it happened, to at least know that his life wasn't a complete waste.

He had to know that there was more to his short life than just his lungs burning like saltwater in your eyes.


	44. Rejection

Hey everyone. Before the drabble I just have to say to anyone reading my other stories sorry for the bit of a wait on the new chapters. In the middle of moving to a new house, plus college application dates are looming over my head, and my I need eight great art pieces finished by the 8th for my AP studio class midterm. So yeah, I'm a little busy, but I will try and finish the new chapters… sometime…

**Theme: **Rejection  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Alphonse  
><strong>Summary: <strong>He couldn't believe it never occurred to him that his current state was only a temporary fix.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>386

Incompatible

He should have known something like this could happen eventually. He should have known it from the beginning, but for some reason the thought never even crossed his mind until he saw the rotted remains of Barry the Chopper's original body. He had been so foolish to think that this hunk of metal would be perfectly happy to carry around his soul for however long it took them to finally accomplish their mission.

It was late now. Winry was asleep, and Alphonse couldn't help but still be a bit shaken from the brutal fight with the homunculus Lust earlier in the day. Mustang and Havoc were in the hospital, and his 'body' was in shambles, but brother wasn't here to fix it, so there wasn't much he could do about that.

There wasn't much he could do at all at the moment, but think about the new information. He'd need to explain it to Ed once he got back after all, so that they might be able to do something about it.

Any body is incompatible with a soul that is not it's own. It really was a simple concept, and it made sense. Why, he'd heard stories of automail patient's body rejecting and attacking the artificial limbs. If it would do that, why wouldn't it be the same way with a soul? Of course, he had no way to figure out when the armor would start to reject his soul. He could only hope that it would be a gradual process. Something with signs, so that they might be able to find some way around it. If it was just a sudden expulsion, with no clues at all… Well, he supposed that he wouldn't really feel anything, so it might actually be better for him that way. Of course, Ed would probably completely fall apart if that were to happen.

Shaking his head, he tried to rid himself of those thoughts. Once Ed got back, he would explain everything, and they'd figure out some plan. They made a promise, and he wasn't going to be the one to break it.

Deep down, he knew that he really didn't have any hold over whether he would be rejected or not. It was all luck, and hopefully, he'd survive long enough to just _see _his brother again.


	45. Break Away

Sorry about missing an update again. Spent the last couple days doing nothing but college applications, and I'll probably spend the next couple of days doing nothing but art for Schoolastics and moving into out new house on Monday. So busy, but here's the drabble for you kind patient people.

**Theme: **Break Away  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Ed, Al  
><strong>Summary: <strong>You can't carry it with you if you want to survive.  
><strong>Verse:<strong> Manga/Anime  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>419

Ashes to Ashes

"Ed, are you sure we should be doing this?" the now armored bound Alphonse asked. The question felt like an ironic echo to what had happened right before the two brothers ended up in their god forsaken states, but this time Ed didn't have any doubts. He'd give his life to make sure the younger boy got back what was lost, and he didn't want anything to get in his way.

"Yeah, we've been through this. Although I wont stop you if you want to stay, it's my mistake to fix, after all," Edward said, but Al quickly shook the helmet that constituted as his head.

"_And _we've been through his already. I'm coming, it's both our mistake," he said confidently, and the older boy nodded slightly, a small smile on his face. He wasn't sure how he could still smile after everything they had lost, but he was.

"Then let's get this show on the road," he said, heading over to the small fire place in the living room. Quickly getting a fire going, he transmuted a large stick, spreading the flames around as his brother watched, until they were on the outside of the house. The heat from the ever growing inferno almost caused Edward to hesitate, but he managed to over come the subtle regret and throw the still flaming stick onto the side of the house before taking a few steps back.

Well, this was it. The fire was growing faster than either boy had imagined it would, and soon they could see flames breaking through the top story windows, and started to wonder how much longer would it be safe to stay and watch their home burn. Well, it wasn't really a home anymore, which is just what they wanted. No temptation to come back and wait out the rest of their miserable lives in their half-human states.

Turning around, the two brothers began walking away from the burning remains. Neither looked back, as if afraid that they would state to have regrets and try to stop the already raging fire if they did.

There wasn't any turning back now, but the brother's didn't feel free in the least. No, they felt the most chained then they ever had in their entire lives. Chained to the promises they made to fix what was obviously something larger than either could comprehend. It was the only thing they could do now though. They'd taken the first step, and all that was left was to move forward.


End file.
